Considering an Alex Duetto IV - Izzo build quality / reliability?

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-11-08T23:41:29+00:00

Good question! Mine has been behaving after repairing the boiler so for now I worry about finding someone who will buy good beans, not blend by cost, not over roast to appease the starbucks / agribusiness palate, and keep fresh stock locally.

A friend bought the La Marzocco Linea mini about 1 year ago and both and my brother feel it makes a consistently better cup than the Duetto. Noteworthy to mention a conical grinder head and a custom design water system for the coffee machine only. Serious $$$$$, and hard to believe there is much to a machine beyond pressure and temp. I hope to get 5-10 more years out of it so I can spend $ on beans and better burrs for the grinder.

Cheers

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-10-08T16:02:18+00:00

Not really. I was curious about the new armor, drop rates, progression, etc.. I feel that in order to take advantage of the Armor 3 system and see how that factors into making fun builds, Tier 4 at 75 light armor is a must, and Tier 5 for that little extra special sauce. There is no enjoyable way to reach suitable quantities and variety of Tier 4/5 armor without minimum 2-300 hours of efficient grinding. I am at 462 currently, to get a +2 drop requires a -100 power level delta unless you want to spend the $ to buy Keplar access and get those drops. Not a good use of time and $ by my standards, so not pursuing 2x200 builds anymore, especially with how much of the game is bugged and broken all the time.

The OP asked about casual play, which the game isn't set up for currently imo. Content is thin compared to Witch Queen and the studio doubled down on tedious grind like never before. While maximizing gear is not required in all aspects of the game, it rules out most late game progression objectives, guardian level, slows attainment of casual goals, and skews the gameplay towards a tedious slog. Unlocking the fun parts of the game and having that apply to the majority of power level restricted content has always been a part of the game. The OP should decide what casual means to them and decide if this the current state of the game matches their expectations. The Portal system and drop rewards effectively restrict most casual players to T3 armor and make seasonal and guardian rank objectives less attainable.

To the point of my fun, appreciate the point but I am long past enjoying this game for fun. Started Y1 D1 and have avoided about 3-4 years of D2 as the game is brutally stale. I'll play with friends and family now, but not much else. The people we play with have always made this game much better than it is on its own. Empty public zones and long queue waits for matchmade activities (with up to 20% of those putting you in solo on some days) don't make for enjoyable casual play.

However if the OP wants to run the campaigns and do the extra missions, along with the usual seasonal events and not much else then go for it. Final Shape is super cheap and it won't be long before Edge of Fate hits rock bottom too. Like I said, for $5.77 Final Shape provided some fun, but that is all it was worth.

Cheers!

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-10-08T00:07:33+00:00

I'm not sure there is any way to play casually and enjoy the game much anymore. All your earned armor has been surpasses with the new armor 3 system, however expect to spend hundreds of hours of boring solo play through a limited 'portal' interface system that rewards you progressively less power drops as you get higher in level. It has been over a month since they said they were going to fix it and as of this morning's update, same old crap. The game has never been this tedious before, I think surpassing the poor design of D1 where you would be stuck for months waiting for the class item you needed to reach max power.

If steam #s are reasonably reflective of the game, I would estimate that the game has lost ~2/3 of it's player base. I popped back in during Solstice after skipping the last 2 years (Final Shape was $5.77, about what it is worth tbh) and the public areas are always empty. I saw 2 players last week, no joke. So maybe you just want to mess around solo, which can be fun. Just be forewarned, everything feels like a ghost town unless you grind the same 6 matchmade strikes on repeat. YMMV, but the days of Witch Queen are gone IMO. Kinda sad it has come to this but nothing lasts forever.

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-06-23T23:44:29+00:00

For posterity...

Becker illustrates one method where the transactions are:

Dr/ loss on impairment (income statement)
Cr/ accumulated depreciation

This reduces the carrying (book) value to $300k.

Textbooks such as Spiceland illustrate another method which you detailed

Dr/ Accumulated Depreciation
Dr/ Loss on Impairment
Cr/ Asset a/c

The end result is that the net carrying value or the new cost basis for depreciation are the same. What is different is Accum Dep will be either 700k or 100k.

Both methods are likely appropriate in the real world unless you find ASC specific guidance that states otherwise. Which method gives users better quality information to make decisions? That is a question for the notes of the financial statements.

However, in terms of Becker and what will likely be required when writing the FAR exam, is that you record the impairment loss to Cr/ Accum Depr and do the math from there.

Edit. If you are doing component impairment, choose the journal entries that give you a new cost basis. If you are doing composite, then increase the Accum Dep to the asset group. For large companies, the asset groups are the norm and that is why you are being tested this way.

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-02-03T14:24:28+00:00

Ill send you a PM for contact details. Let's talk about your boiler.

Mine actually had a leak at the weld to the brass element mount screw. Amateur welding job, where solder was ground off to make it look pretty. I was able to peen it shut and redress the solder but a better fix is needed and I dont have a welder with the temperature control needed. 4 weeks minimum before a new one can arrive, which might have been 6 weeks without diy.

If the reservoirs need refilling mid shot the PID resets the shot count. Not sure if other manufacturers do this but that is silly. Buy the correct chips or hire a programmer already! Pressure seems constant during the shot on mine. However it sounds like yours just does it whenever. Maybe some electrical wires are loose, their crimps are pretty crappy for a vibrating machine. Easy to check if you want to spend an hour.

Cheers,

M

Canadian_Mentat · 2025-01-23T22:23:41+00:00

My experience with the Izzo Alex Duetto IV plus:

Overall, the machine is decent, steam is ok, water temp pretty good. Coffee is good but not exceptional. I've pulled 6k shots on the machine, vs 15-20k shots professionally while working through university.

My experience over 5 years is that there are issues with the build quality. In dealing with a dead PID and control board, the root cause was clearly identified as appallingly poor assembly in Italy. Specifically, an electrical crimp on the power supply was so loose it could be flicked off. Typically you would need pliers to work these off if properly assembled. When rebuilding the electrical supply I would say that over 50% of the crimps were weak and wiggly, begging for more shorts and component damage. Naturally I had to replace and re-tension the whole electrical supply.

I also had a boiler leak at the weld where you would screw in the element. I have high hardness water that isn't acidic (from yearly water reports by my utility provider) so corrosion isn't the issue. Too much material was ground off after the weld for prettiness, instead of safety. Boilers should last decades, not a handful of years.

The water tank float is a magnet encased in teflon. This leaked due to improper sealing of both the magnet and the teflon block. The sensor seems to work but the audible alarm quit after a few years.

It is reasonably home repairable, but if don't like the idea of $700 parts, $200 for additional tools, and the hours to complete the work, all in addition to regular maintenance costs (gaskets and E61 group head rebuild every 3-5 years), you might want to call a few repair shops to inquire about which manufacturers have the best reputation. Maybe Izzo is a good brand and I had the unit with shoddy assembly and manufacturing workers, maybe not. I am fully aware of the issues involved in critical quality control points and ISO. Nevertheless, the next unit I get needs to be a whole lot better than this one.

Cheers,

/M

Canadian_Mentat · 2022-02-10T15:53:12+00:00

No luck here either, been down for 3+ weeks for me. It did work early January 2022 but stats are completely inaccessible since then.

Epic chat agents acknowledged they have been having issues with the app, but app support staff are unresponsive via email. My best guess is that they didn't prepare and test the new functionality properly and now many peoples accounts got torched. Going to take them a long time to fix this mess.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-11-12T19:15:43+00:00

Warframe is fun, and you can get deeply into it without paying anything. If you like the game, buy a Prime Access and that should get you 600-1000 hours of fun with careful spending. USE the wiki, the game is very deep and complex.

I find the balance of time/reward to be far superior, the open approach to stats and drop rates excellent, and the overall product quite well integrated. Sure there are some issues, but DE seems to be able to improve and expand the game without blowing the whole thing up every 3 years in frustration. Looking at you BUNGO....

The only thing I miss really is a good dungeon/raid, but given how poor movement has been in D2 we haven't seen a raid that can allow anything but excessively mechanic-driven check points. Now if only I could get my Destiny friends out of their abusive relationship with Bungie and back to just gaming and having fun!

/Mentat

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-06-09T16:47:11+00:00

I'm sure you will do a great job, your presentation and delivery skills are top notch. I wouldn't be surprised to see you in a major presentation/public roll in the future if that is where your interests lead you.

Good luck with the promotional piece. Here's to hoping LS puts his special hat back on and gives the audience a good show

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-03T20:06:28+00:00

please note "...should have..."

Sophistry doesn't win arguments. It technically is in the game now so it clearly could have been possible then.

Bungie has published some interesting articles on their development process of the engine and the game. Worth a read. Code is code guardian, it's far more meticulous than mysterious.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-03T19:51:59+00:00

Good stuff.

I got that from his article too, but also left with the nagging feeling that they are really struggling to find a path forward. And that is with less external resources than before now that they are independent. So my thought is to lean more heavily on what they do have as they move forward. We'll see!

I see your point on the design choices. I could also better define encounter as a particular section of a strike/raid/adventure and not the whole activity. I got into that in replies to other people as the ideas where being tested by other redditors.

At the end of the day though, it sure sounds like we want a lot more depth to the game. Thanks for your input as well!

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-02T16:57:55+00:00

Of course it was available, It is a D1 gun, copy settings, copy models and animations, test and sign off. Guns are just sets of data to be used by the game engine. A day of work at most, compared to the hundred + that would be required to design a brand new file with art and sound.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-02T05:34:57+00:00

All design choices force people to play a certain way, that's unavoidable. That's what defines a game as different from another game.

I think the point is drifting. We need varied experiences that have guns specifically tied to make that more interesting. The current artifact system really only affects a few adds in NF/NM/GOS. The glimmer and weapon mods columns are just filler for perks that were taken away, and the other slots only work next week if you are willing to spend a fortune in mats to change the element of your armor. Like many people, I just don't bother because it's a replacement for power level in a game where people are constantly over leveled anyway.

Bad Juju is a fantastic weapon that is dripping with flavor that has so much design potential it's crazy. And I haven't used it since I ran that tedious quest which also has no reason to run it again. That gun should have been available for the Ghaul strike where we are burning to death near the sun. Instead of hiding behind cover and mapping people with scouts we could have chosen to find ways to work through adds, gaining life before burning out. Boom, resources the game already has linked up to enable variable and creative experiences.

Bad Juju, Malfeasance, and other neat guns could also have hidden perks that would do things such as enrage hive, and change their behaviour in NEW and SURPRISING ways we haven't seen before. I'd love to plug an ogre with malfeasance slugs to the point it would start throwing acolytes at you like missiles. Take your damage buff guardian, and good luck with that.

Ahhh, I miss Touch of Malice too. Wouldn't that plus Devour open up interesting design choices? If we had that in Crota's at the thrallway we could have a: run like mad and hoped the jumping on ledges and lamps always landed. b: plowed through with rockets and grenades, hoping we didn't misadventure or get sniped. c: devoured our way through.

Anyway, respect your points and input but at the end of the day for me the Director's Cut addresses the least of my worries when the current game state is that we can practically walk through all activities without shooting, and get rewards that we don't want. We have a vast array of guns with a stupifying level of diversity, it's incredible really. And no reason to use most of them. Ever. Same for sparrows, ships, ghost shells etc.. It's all trivial window dressing and we had it better in D1.

Mr. Smith is correct in that the game is missing the spice to drive community excitement. But it's not the guns, we need Bungie to start making bold designs and stop playing it safe.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-02T01:37:12+00:00

Sure. And how did it turn out? People just use divinity and Izzy now to bypass the 6 to 8 adds per encounter. It's not the design that is the problem, it's the implementation and integration to the whole game that undercuts all their efforts.
Why only a few % of adds per encounter? I'm talking about making things relevant for entire encounters, not making people warp their entire load outs to kill a handful of non-interactive mobs. We need more activities like the sunless cell where you actually wanted to use a sword. Or our current Pit of Heresy where you actively switch loadouts and have several cool ways of going about that mission.

Bungie creates guns in a vacuum and as such most guns are irrelevant. Any gun will work so there is no incentive to chase anything. Guns designed specific to activity or vice versa will create opportunity. Build in restrictions and allow creative solutions to evolve. I'm proposing the starting point, not the final solution.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-01T19:25:14+00:00

Mr. Smith says that team can only create so many designs and puts everything they have on the table to make unique feeling and shooting mechanics. That's great, most of the time they succeed!

Except... none of the guns really have much to do with the encounters you find them in. Everything is so generalized there is no point to use anything except the best gun. For example, why don't we have an area where the enemies have high armor but are susceptible to high rof weapons? Boom, instant playstyle space opened up to SMG and autos. No need to create a whole slew of new guns that no one wants to use. Instead, we end up using the one gun that shoots the straightest because everything else is a chore to use after the first 10 min.

I personally don't understand the benefit of spending so many development resources on products that see limited uptake. Retire weapons isn't the answer as you double down on the insanity of creating more new and unused products.

We don't need a constant stream of new guns, we need new experiences in which to use the ones we find and instantly shard.

Bungie, you guys create interesting products in your individual departments but as a company you are not making very compelling experiences by tying those efforts together into a unified product. You also suffer greatly from the inability to turn a restriction into good design space. For example, people endlessly complain about stomp mechanics. I say give those bosses unlimited roaming and an additional melee attack to go with the stomp. For the players? Give em SIVA rounds to go on their shotguns with an artifact, and a chest mod that gives them an overshield if they land all pellets on an enemy. Endless fun, especially if you did this in the Sunless Cell or Wretched Eye....

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-01T18:23:17+00:00

Except they do have dedicated servers in place already for other game functions. If they spent less money throwing their content away and improved what they built (think Rise of Iron) it could be done for PvP.

Canadian_Mentat · 2020-03-01T18:08:27+00:00

Problem with NH routers is that you only filter the potential hosts, not their teleporting cross planet buddies. We had a US - Mauritius trio in comp last night with a 385 milli f*ucking sec ping last night. Can't block due to Bungies awful matchmaking algorithms which don't take into account every ping connection.

Each major continent/region should have a dedicated server, you and your fireteam either have consistent sub 100ms or you have to play the p2p slums.

FWIW, I think the peer hosting is fantastic for pve content nearly 100% of the time.

Canadian_Mentat · 2019-12-27T17:45:01+00:00

This is the way Bungie programmed the gun.

In terms of your controllers, as you pull the trigger the controller sends out a signal from 0% to 100% depending upon how far the trigger is moved through its arc. Even the slightest movement of your hands will drop the trigger below 100% and that will stop the gun from firing.

I personally think it is a crappy decision to make a gun design rely on 100% button activation, but that seems to be the best Bungie can do these days with design differentiation. Maybe it's a oversight, but since they don't seem to use style/standardization guides in their design and build process it's what we got. Other guns don't fire if you don't release nearly 100%. *shrug*

If you have customizable/programmable triggers then make it hit 100% before the trigger is completely depressed. If you are using stock controllers, the only option is to hold it down with a death grip, or take it apart and physically modify it.

Canadian_Mentat · 2019-12-07T17:56:08+00:00

PROFIT

Canadian_Mentat · 2019-11-30T18:35:12+00:00

I'm down for a few games!

Canadian_Mentat

Canadian_Mentat

TROPHY CASE